Wall ventilator



March 1956 w. DAVIS WALL VENTILATOR Filed Jan. 11, 1952 ATTORNEY WALL VENTILATOR William L. Davis, Fort Bragg, Calif.

Application January 11, 1952, Serial No. 266,008

2 Claims. (Cl. 20-62) The present invention relates to improvements in a wall ventilator, and is a continuation in part of my previous application on the same subject, Serial Number 101,443, filed June 25, 1949, now Patent No. 2,587,702.

In the former application it was proposed to provide a ventilated wall for an open-type chicken house and for other uses, such as a windbreak, and its principal feature was to provide a wall structure comprising a series of tiltable slats, with suitable control means whereby the slats could be tilted to any desired degree of angularity for limiting access of the elements to the inside of the chicken house.

it was further proposed to firmly anchor the wall structure at the top and at the bottom in such a manner that upon a closing movement the lower slats would close more quickly than the upper slats for principally excluding the elements from the lower portion of the chicken house, while the upper portion still remained open for a desired degree of ventilation.

In the present invention it is proposed to provide further improvements on the wall structure.

More particularly it is proposed, in one phase of the invention, to provide an improved anchoring means for the slats with respect to flexible supporting straps.

It is further proposed to provide an improved frame for the wall structure, the frame being constructed to deflect the elements, such as wind and rain, away from the wall structure.

It is additionally proposed to provide a ventilator for a wall whereby, upon a slot closing movement, a final pressure may be exerted upon the slats for bringing the latter into closely contacting relation and insuring a practically solid wall against inclement weather.

Again, it is proposed, to provide a slat mounting arrangement to cause the slat structure, when inwide open position, as it would be in warm weather, to project slightly beyond the frame so as to catch wandering breezes and to encourage air circulation, whereas in closed position, the entire slat structure retreats from the front edge of the frame to furnish better protection against inclement weather.

And finally, it is proposed to provide, in combination with the wall ventilator, means for mounting a screen forwardly of the wall and means for causing water to trickle over the screen for desired cooling effects.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the specification proceeds, and the novel features of my wall ventilator will be fully defined in the claims attached hereto.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 shows a rear elevation of my wall ventilator;

Figure 2, a vertical section taken along line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3, a section taken along line 3-3 of Figure 1, with the slat structure in closed position, and cooling means added to the wall;

nited States Patent ICE Figure 4, an enlarged sectional detail view taken along line 4--4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5, an enlarged detail view taken along line 5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6, an enlarged detail view taken along line 6-6 of Figure 1; and

Figure 7, an enlarged detail view taken along line 7-7 of Figure l.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, I wish to have it understood that various changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims attached hereto, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, my invention comprises in its principal features, a rectangular frame 1, which may represent an independent wall such as a windbreak, or the side, or the end wall of a chicken house, or similar structure, or part of such side or end wall, a shaft 2 suspended from the upper frame member, a pair of straps 3 suspended from the shaft, each strap being looped at the bottom near the lower frame member, spools 4 secured upon the latter frame member for receiving the loops, and a series of slats 5 supported between the straps in vertically spaced relation.

The frame 1 comprises a pair of side members 6, an upper frame member 7, and a lower frame member 8, the frame members being in the form of wooden boards interconnected at the corners, as shown, and mounted on a slant to cause the frame to expand from front to rear.

The upper frame member has a pair of brackets 9 suspended therefrom, the lower ends of the brackets being looped as at 10 to receive the shaft 2, with the extreme end 11 of each bracket brought back to the body portion thereof, to be secured thereon by means of bolts 12 and wing nuts 13. There is a slight spacing between the extreme end of each bracket and its body portion to allow the loop to be tensioned upon the shaft for insuring a desired degree of braking action.

The shaft 2 has another bracket 14 secured thereon, with a handle 15 projecting therefrom to serve as a manipulating means for the shaft. The latter, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, is mounted substantially midway between the forward and rearward edges of the frame.

A second pair of brackets 16 are looped upon the shaft and secured thereto by means of screws 17. These brackets have arms 18 projecting sidewise therefrom in opposite directions, the arms being normally in horizontal position and being made to tilt with the shaft in either direction. The overall distance between the ends of the arms corresponds substantially to the width of the slats 5.

The straps 3, which are looped at their lower ends, have their upper ends secured upon the ends of the bracket arms, preferably by means of hinge plates 19 riveted upon the straps and pivoted to the ends of the arms, as at 20, the hinged ends of the hinge plates being curved away from the straps and toward the arms, as shown, to insure a free tilting movement of the arms with respect to the straps, as shown, for instance, in Figure 3.-

The bottom loops of the straps engage over the spools 4 adjacent the lower frame member, the spools being supported in brackets 21 secured upon said frame member. The latter'brackets are mounted in such a manner as to bring the spool fairly close to the forward edge of the frame, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, and the straps are dimensioned to be under a fair degree of tension when secured in the manner described, with the slats in position.

The slats may be made of wood or other suitable material, and are mounted between the straps in vertically spaced relation, the spacing being uniform and arranged in such a manner that the slats overlap when tilted into angular position, as in Figure 3.

The specific mounting means for the slats is shown in the detail view of Figure 4 and comprises hinge plates 22 riveted upon the straps in normally registering relation, and a saddle plate 23 extending across the space between the forward and rearward stretches of each strap and pivoted to the hinge plates, as at 24.

The hinged end of each hinge plate turns away from the strap, and the hinged ends of the saddle plates turn upward on opposite sides of the overlying slat, so as to bring the hinge pin into the plane of the slat. This construction allows of great freedom of swinging motion of the slats between the straps, and at the same time is strong and enduring and capable of withstanding any stresses encountered by the ventilated wall under any weather conditions.

The lowermost slat 5 has a forward extension 5 adapted to strike the lower frame member or the spool supporting brackets 21 when the slats reach a position of extreme incline, as in Figure 3, and if turning effort on the shaft 1 is continued thereafter, the tightening of the rearward stretch of the strap, accompanied by an inward movement of the upper arm 18, will tend to squeeze the slats into intimate contact with one another, While the extension 5' at the same time serves to close any gap immediately above the lower frame member.

While the form of my invention thus far described is a unit complete in itself, I prefer to add a screen feature illustrated in detail in Figure 3. This feature comprises an auxiliary frame 25 of the same dimensions as the forward end of the main frame 1 and adapted to be secured thereto in any suitable manner, as by hooks 26.

The auxiliary frame has a screen 27 mounted therein in spaced relation to the slat structure and is preferably provided with a water pipe 28 stretching horizontally along the upper edge of the screen and connecting with valve-controlled pipe 29, through which water may be admitted to the screen, the pipe 28 being preferably perforated at spaced points to uniformly distribute the water over the screen.

The advantages of the present invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description.

The slats are mounted firmly between the front and rear stretches of the straps, and are still constructed in such a manner that they do not interfere with the tilting of the slats to any desired angle.

The frame 1 may be readily secured upon any Wall or other structure having an aperture registering substantially with that of the rear edge of the frame, with the latter preferably projecting outwardly with respect to the supporting structure to cause the sides and top and bottom of the frame to deflect strong winds and rain away from the frame opening.

The slat structure, when in normal open position, as in Figures 1 and 2, projects slightly beyond the frame to catch slight breezes.

The slat structure may be readily operated by the handle 15 on the shaft 1, and when the handle is turned for closing the slats, the forward edges of the latter retreat from the forward edge of the frame for greater protection.

A final tightening effect may be produced after the extension 5' strikes the frame, in the manner described, and

the screen, with its moistening means, may be applied whenever weather conditions may make it desirable.

I claim:

1. In a structure of the character described, a rectangular frame having a pair of side members and upper and lower members, a shaft revolvably suspended from the upper member, brackets mounted on the shaft and having arms normally positioned horizontally and extending in opposite directions, straps having upper ends suspended from the ends of the arms to present front and rear stretches and forming loops near the lower frame member, guide spools for the loops mounted in the lower frame member and disposed to maintain the straps under tension, hinge plates mounted vertically upon opposing stretches of the straps in normally registering relation and having upper ends curved toward one another and away from the straps, with hinge pins disposed in said upper ends, and saddle plates stretched horizontally across the space between opposing hinge pins and having up-turned ends suspended from said hinge pins, the curved upper end of the hinge plates serving to maintain clearance between the straps and the ends of the saddles and to exert inward pressure on said ends at points spaced from the straps when the saddles are turned toward vertical position.

2. In a structure of the character described, a rectangular frame having a pair of side members and upper and lower end members, a shaft revolvably suspended from the upper member, brackets mounted on the shaft and having arms normally positioned horizontally and extending in opposite directions, straps having upper ends suspended from the ends of the arms to present front and rear stretches and forming loops near the lower frame member, guide spools for the loops mounted in the lower frame member and disposed to maintain the straps under tension, hinge plates mounted vertically upon opposing stretches of the straps in normally registering relation and having upper ends curved toward one another and away from the straps, with hinge pins disposed in said upper ends, saddle plates stretched horizontally across the space between opposing hinge pins and having tip-turned ends suspended from said hinge pins, the curved upper end of the hinge plates serving to maintain clearance between the straps and the ends of the saddles and to exert inward pressure on said ends at points spaced from the straps when the saddles are turned toward vertical position, and slats resting on the saddle plates between the hinge pins and inv the horizontal plane thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 336,944 Ransom Mar. 2, 1886 489,033 Proctor Jan. 3, 1893 779,046 Jones et a]. Jan. 3, 1905 1,894,730 Burns Jan. 17, 1933 2,056,823 Brown s Oct. 6, 1936 2,170,877 Simon Aug. 29, 1939 2,207,605 Wolfe July 9, 1940 2,276,425 Slattery Mar. 17, 1942 2,587,702 Davis Mar. 4, 1952 

